Mary
by arabellaesque
Summary: In a brief moment of clarity, Imoen realises what the REAL horror of the Bhaalspawn taint entails.


Imoen felt awful. Her body ached all over, not helped in the slightest by the cramped conditions of her cage. She forced herself to look behind -- Jaheira and Minsc were still there, also coming round slowly from the tortures they'd also experienced. There was no sign of Khalid and Dynaheir, though.

She stood up shakily, her tunic torn and covered with her own dried blood. She had to cling to the bars of the cage to prevent herself from falling back down. It was almost as if every bit of strength had been sapped from her being. Taking a look around, she discovered that she could make out very little about their captivity; it was dark, so very dark. But in the next cage down was the final member of their group -- the closest thing she had to a sister. The thief girl felt immense relief -- everything would surely be all right now.

"Mary!" she whispered, hoping to rouse the girl from her sleep. Nothing happened, so Imoen resorted to using her full name. "Mary-Sue!"

A slight twitch... then the girl began to stir, slowly sitting up. It was as if a lantern had been lit in the centre of the room -- the sheer radiance gleaming from the girl's perfect skin was enough to illuminate the surroundings well enough for Imoen to see all the other cages -- thankfully empty. There were a few exits leading away from here -- they had to get to one, had to escape! But first they had to get out of these cages.

Imoen worked a hairpin free and began trying to pick her own lock while Mary-Sue gracefully and elegantly got to her feet, carefully brushing down her still-perfect white robe, then checked her impeccably styled raven-black hair that shone with health as it carefully framed her blemish-free heart-shaped face, letting only the tips of her ears poke through. _Bloody elves_, Imoen thought to herself. _Always so bloody perfect._

She finally got frustrated with making no progress on her freedom, letting out an exasperated cry as she slumped away from the cage's door. Mary threw her a concerned look, then reached out, her long, slender arm easily fitting between the spaces of the bars.

"Give me the pin," she said, in _that_ voice. A voice that was like vocal honey, dripping with sweetness; enough to make anyone pause in what they were doing and obey her, almost like a mindless drone. Which is exactly what Imoen found herself doing, despite all the times she'd tried to fight against it. The elven girl smiled, and a vaguely white light seemed to shine down on her like a spotlight before she turned, putting the pin into her own lock. There was a small 'click' almost instantly.

_How the..._ Imoen would have been incensed were it not for the ridiculously soothing effect Mary's mere presence had on everyone. But she, the _thief_ of the party, had spent her whole life picking locks, sneaking around, disarming traps! Yet Mary, the paladin/druid/bard/mage -- how _did_ someone manage to be a paladin and a druid anyway? -- had shown her up, once again! But... she couldn't be angry. Not when those large, almond-shaped, sparkling, green eyes were shining at her, along with that wonderfully dazzling smile, showing off teeth that were whiter than snow. Imoen was so caught up in her dreamy staring that it took her several moments to realise Mary had opened up her cage too.

"Come, child," she said, her voice warm and comforting and strong and mellow. "We must hurry to rescue our friends, Jaheira and Minsc!"

Imoen nodded dumbly, staggering out of the cage as she tried to get the blood circulating around her limbs again as Mary glided off towards the others, like a large white angel. She was halfway there when there was a crash behind them, and Imoen looked around in horror to see Irenicus approaching, a large golem by his side.

"So, you escaped," he said, his emotionless voice mirroring the mask on his face. "But not for long, I am afraid. Potpan, here, will help you back into your cage before any... _harm_ comes to you." He laughed, waving the golem forward.

"No!" Mary's voice was as warm and comforting and strong and mellow as normal, but this time it was also commanding. The creature stopped, seemingly confused, and Irenicus' mirth ceased instantly.

"You dare defy me?"

Imoen watched as Mary shook her head sadly, her large eyes suddenly changing colour and becoming a sparkling blue, showing off the sorrow and pity she obviously felt in her heart for their captor. "You don't wish to keep us imprisoned here any longer," she said, sailing across the floor towards him, like a beacon of light in the darkest of times.

"I don't?" He scratched his head, but already Imoen could see the change in his demeanour. The golem was still paused in mid-stride, looking dangerously like it was about to fall over. Mary's voice was like a spoken version of a confusion spell; people would begin talking to her, then suddenly change into completely different personalities by the end of the discussion. It could be quite overwhelming.

"Of course not," replied Mary lightly, shining an enigmatic smile at the mage. Imoen wished she could do that without having to wear that clunky Ring of Human Influence they'd been given outside Beregost. "You know you don't really want to keep us here, causing us pain and misery -- I know you're a stronger person than that! Whatever it is that you want, we can help you -- we can see you through your troubled times, and share the love and warmth we have together!"

Irenicus began to shake and Imoen briefly wondered if Mary had lost her touch; she prepared for the explosion of rage, and was stunned when he suddenly fell to his knees, massive, heaving sobs erupting from somewhere behind his mask.

"You don't understand!" he wailed. "I've lost everything! _Everything_! All because I wanted more than I could have!"

"There, there," Mary said soothingly, patting the man's back with amazing gentleness and compassion. "I know... I understand."

"How could you?" he snarled, pushing her away slightly. "Look at you! Everything you do is so... so utterly _perfect_! You have no idea what it is like to have lost everything! I can't even go back home!"

Mary's sad expression returned, her large brown -- _brown?!_ -- eyes almost a window to the pain and suffering she'd experienced as an orphan, wandering the roads alone... -- _alone?!?_ -- only her survival skills and extensive ranger knowledge enough to keep her alive.

Imoen blinked rapidly a few times, then shook her head. _What the..._?

"I, too, was cast away from my home," said Mary, in a sing-song voice. The lilting tones danced through the air, entrancing everyone present. "I could not return, for some believed that I was a danger to them." Her head bowed, her hands folded across her lap as she knelt, almost as if in a silent prayer; a divine vision of the purity of religion. "But I understood their worry. I forgave them," she continued, her voice so soft and low that it was almost impossible to hear, yet even Minsc and Jaheira, further away than Imoen, were listening intently. Despite their daze.

"You... you were?" asked Irenicus.

"I was," Mary nodded solemnly, reaching out and taking his hands in her own, as if he were a child that she was placating. "But I _did_ go back -- and my old friends... they were delighted to see me, even when I had feared that it would not be the case! And I think you could go home too. I really do."

Imoen thought back to their return to Candlekeep those few weeks ago. It had been quite strange -- the thief had been _sure_ that it was _Mary,_ and not her, that Ulraunt didn't like; but when they passed through the gates and walked up to him, he'd sneered contemptuously at Imoen, then embraced Mary-Sue in a warm and loving hug, telling her she'd always been like a daughter to him and how he'd strive to fill Gorion's shoes. Then when Rieltar had mysteriously died, he'd had Imoen taken away as the prime suspect, and it was only Mary's influence that had managed to get her free, while at the same time persuading the Duke's of Baldur's Gate about Sarevok's Evil Intentions, and managing to solve the whole iron crisis without it coming down to bloodshed at all.

Oh yes, Mary was a stringent pacifist, but also able to wield any weapon in existence in the realms. Imoen had always wondered about that.

"You really think I could go home?" Irenicus was looking up at Mary with hopeful eyes. She was smiling down at him, stroking a few errant hairs away from his face. Imoen wondered how they got to be there, considering the mask and all.

"I think you can do anything you want to do," she said, her voice oozing with support. Imoen was feeling a little bit sick. "And we'll come with you -- we'll see this Queen Ellesime and show her how wrong she was to have taken the action she did! With a bit of support and understanding, you can go back to how it all was! You just need the _love_."

"How... how did you know her name?"

Mary's radiant smile continued, but there was no smugness or arrogance there. Only the all-knowing aura that surrounded her as often as the eerie white glow. "I know everything," she said, looking away, her benign eyes fixing themselves onto Imoen. The thief found her control slowly slipping as she passed into the sugar-induced haze that communication with Mary often invoked. "Imoen! Free Jaheira and Minsc -- we have a long road ahead of us."

The human girl turned away, unable to resist the orders of Mary while trying to blank out the rest of the conversation she was having with Irenicus. The cages were locked, and no matter how hard Imoen tried to get them open, it wouldn't work. A sigh behind her signalled Mary's appearance. With just one touch to each of the prisons, Jaheira's doors sprang open and Minsc's cage just broke apart, and Mary beamed with happiness, hugging each of her friends before returning to the formerly evil mage, helping him to his feet as she assured him they'd stick by his side. Jaheira was staring blankly at the scene, but eventually she looked to Imoen and spoke.

"Child, your friend is most unnatural."

"Well." Imoen laughed nervously. "She _is_ a Bhaalspawn."

"Then if this is the effect the taint has, it is dire indeed." The druid sighed. "Let us worry about that when we leave here. Our friends are missing, and it concerns me."

"We will find them before we go," came Mary's voice, showing that no matter how far away you thought you were, she could still hear everything. "Joneleth says that they might be dead, but fear not my friends! I will bring them back to life, because I have the gift!"

A strange silence fell, but Mary's magnificent smile invoked optimism and hope in them all. They _knew_ she could do anything she wanted, and so the momentarily passing away of their friends was not to be mourned. They would be back soon.

"Boo says that he does not understand how Mary can be quite so good at everything." Minsc sounded quite puzzled. "And Minsc must agree. Since we joined forces, there has been no evil requiring a butt-kicking of justice! Instead, little Mary talks to them, and we find ourselves helping them to become better people."

"I dunno," Imoen shrugged. "She's just... real good with this diplomacy thing, ya know?"

Minsc didn't look convinced, and Jaheira was holding her head in her hands, trying to fight what Imoen had come to refer to as the 'Mary-Sue Effect'. She knew it wouldn't be long before they all succumbed to it again, swallowed into the vast depths of Mary's perfection, where they became nothing more than silent sidekicks, mutely watching as she single-handedly charmed her way through Faerûn, showing another talent or skill at every turn.

The last thing Imoen thought before the sensation completely took her over, compelling her to follow in the Bhaalspawn's footsteps once more was: _If that's what it means to be the child of a dead god, then thank Mask it's not me!_


End file.
